


Public Enemy

by charismawizard



Series: Divided We Fall [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Other, Pidge is an absolute badass in this story, Spoiler Warning: This is set post finale, Swearing, non-binary Pidge, so the idea isn't entirely mine but the writing is, this was inspired by an awesome headcanon I saw on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7410637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charismawizard/pseuds/charismawizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Paladins of Voltron scattered across the far corners of the galaxy, Pidge finds themselves facing an old enemy in a familiar place. </p><p>[Based on this headcanon found on the blog voltronheadcanons: http://voltronheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/146926656635/ok-but-like-i-have-an-idea-that-post-finale-pidge ]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Pidge groaned, now barely squinting their eyes open as the light burned their dilated pupils, they hissed silently under their breath as they attempted to shield their face from the blinding light only to find their arm could only move so far.

They lifted their head, trying to see their surroundings only to see nothing but grey and a swinging light over head.  
  
_What the hell?_ They thought to themselves. _Where am I? Why am I here?_

 

The Green Paladin tried to recall what happened last through the horrific migraine that seemed to be numbing their skull from the pain alone. Their eyes widened-- Zarkon, their friends, the wormhole, and- what happened after that?

Oh yeah, screaming. Lots of screaming, then suddenly their vision had faded to black and here they were. It was then that they heard an unfamiliar voice from across the table.

“Pidge Gunderson…” A deep, masculine voice echoed. “You and your friends used to be students here in Garrison then you just- disappeared. But suddenly, you crash land in a lion shaped rocketship in the middle of the desert.”

 

They fully opened their eyes; now seeing two fairly well built soldiers sitting across the table from them in what appeared to be a grey walled government interrogation room. The soldiers both seemed to be fairly high ranking, definitely high enough to cause Pidge a fair amount of anxiety, and not to mention the fact these men were clearly human.

And right now, humans were the last thing Pidge wanted to deal with.

Suddenly, they were pulled out of their haze as one of their officers leaned closer towards them, Pidge swore they could almost smell the whiskey on the man’s breath as he inquired, “So, Mr. Gunderson, please tell me-- what the hell happened out there?”

 

  
Pidge paused, their brow now furrowing as they tried to think on how to make the situation sound less preposterous than it actually was, “About half a year ago, my team and I left campus, we met Keith who claimed that he was detecting some strange energy in the desert so we decided to investigate. We then discovered the blue version of the same lion I crashed in. There are five others including myself, we are Paladins of Voltron, we protect the universe.”

Upon finishing their story, Pidge analysed their words, clearly they had left out some major details (fully intentional of course), but they were really trying to dance around the sensitive information and cut to the chase here.

The officers glanced over at one another, both looking at the paladin as if they had just flung their files across the room. The first officer growled, “Do you think this is a joke? We can try you under charges of perjury, going AWOL during training, and lying about your identity to the government.”

“Lying about my identity?” Pidge asked, now leaning forward as best they could with the cuffs straining against their wrist. “What does that have to do with me or this situation?”

 

He suddenly began to clear his throat as he pulled a page out from a file and began to read, “Katie Holt, daughter of Commander Holt and sister to Lieutenant Matt Holt, is hereby ban from Garrison property due to infiltrating classified government files as well as breaking and entering and is to be arrested on sight if found.”

“So?” Pidge asked, biting back their anxiety as they attempted to deny the implications of what this meant for them. “That’s not my problem; I’m not Katie Holt.”

“Then why does DNA analysis say otherwise?” The second officer asked, now holding up two separate bags. One being a strand of their own hair and the other being what appeared to be a cotton swab taken from the day they had infiltrated Commander Iverson’s computer. “We know better, Ms. Holt. You were identified as Katie Holt by other officers on base upon closer inspection following the crash. So either you talk-- or you’re going to be arrested.”

 

Suddenly, Pidge felt something spark in them as they stared at the handcuff on their left wrist. They may not have their bayard and their lion may have been confiscated, but they had to escape and quickly. As they knew these guys wouldn’t believe their story and this was going to end with their arrest no matter which way this went. But, they decided to try once more.

They looked on at the men sternly, not even a hint of emotion reading in their face as they answered, “I told you. I am a paladin of Voltron to the green lion, there are four more of us, and our team works together to protect the universe. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s it!” The man declared. “Arrest her!”

 

It was then that guards that had once been waiting outside the door burst in, unarmed and burly, but clearly there to take them in if their so called interrogation failed. Pidge felt their large hands practically covering their shoulders as the much smaller convict then proceeded to elbow both guards in the crotch mercilessly and snatched the keys off of one of the guards' belts as they fell to the floor. Now having the key in their possession, Pidge then managed to free themselves from the handcuffs as swift as one could under such an intense amount of pressure.

However, just as quickly as they had escaped, they were faced with a new challenge, as the officers who had been interrogating them were now hurtling towards them. Pidge glanced about the room, attempting to find the most effective way to counteract the officers’ attack, as then they pounced upon the table then proceeded to jump forth on the commander’s shoulders and wrapped their gangly arms around the man’s throat, causing him to lose his balance. The second officer immediately rushed over to pry the young teen off of their co-worker’s body, which only resulted in Pidge using this opportunity to jump down from the man’s shoulders. Pidge watched him topple to the ground as they managed to kick the other one in the groin when they had been leaping from the first officer’s shoulders.

They panted, now turning about the room waiting expectantly for a new enemy to come forth. Not a sound could be heard; nor even a single footstep within range of the door. Seeing it as an opportunity, Pidge immediately fled the interrogation room and attempted to make it towards the hangar. If the green lion had to be anywhere, it was the hangars right? As there wasn’t exactly a place big enough to withhold an enormous, sentient machine which was created to look like the king of the jungle.

 

However, as they reached the doorway to the first hangar, something struck them. Following their fight in the interrogation room, the rest had been easy, almost too easy. As Pidge had been able to literally bolt to the hangars without any sort of confrontation and not to mention, there was no guards waiting for them outside the doors. If anything was to happen, one would assume it would’ve been earlier, right? After all, this was a military Garrison where they had more than enough troops to spare against one stubborn teen.

But, it seemed didn’t have much of a choice on the matter; as this, as far as they could tell, was the only plausible way into the hangars that didn’t require their bayard to either lower themselves down to the ground and make their own entrance. So, the green paladin decided to follow what seemed to be the only logical path in this situation. They bit the bullet, and they pried the doors open, only to hear the sound of multiple whirring guns being pointed in their direction.

“Katie Holt!” Commander Iverson exclaimed from the front of tirade. “You have broken a number of laws as well as ignored military protocol! You are now legally considered a fugitive! Give yourself up for arrest immediately or we will not hesitate to shoot on sight!”

 

Pidge looked at the group in fear, now truly realizing that even in comparison to their fight against Zarkon, they were practically a sitting duck. No lion, no weapons, no backups, no spaceship castles. By any measure of common sense, it would be suicide to even _consider_ petering in the other direction.

They were alone. That was a fact. They stood no chance against all these men even with their knowledge gained from their adventures in the outer reaches of the galaxy and never had Pidge felt as if they were so vulnerable before that they barely even had a chance to fight back. Because as they felt the semi-circle of weaponry and muscle close in around them, all they could do was believe that despite everything-- there was still some hope for the paladins of Voltron.

And as long as they were still alive, memories intact, they would continue to fight with what little strength they had on their side. Because there’s no revenge sweeter than rebellion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having started to lose hope, Pidge receives an unexpected source of inspiration.

It had been three days since Pidge had found themselves under the Garrison’s eye and never had time seemed to go by so slowly, especially when in the company of others. 

 

_ “We said it once and we’ll say it again, where were you and what were you doing in that spacecraft?” _

 

_ “I told you already,” Pidge growled, “I’m a paladin of Voltron, we defend the universe.” _

 

_ “And we told you we don’t want hear anymore of your nonsense stories!” The guard shook the bars of their cell door. “You think you’re so funny, huh? Mocking us by telling us children’s bedtime stories as an alibi?” _

 

_ “But I’m telling you the truth!” _

 

_ “Forget it!” The officer declared. “She’s a waste of our time…” _

 

Pidge sighed deeply as they sunk back against the wall of their cell and contemplated their current position in life. They had truly lost everything, their father, Matt, Shiro, their friends… It all felt like a distant memory to them.

Not only had they lost their freedom, but they had lost their possessions too as they were promptly stripped of their armor and forced to wear a safety cone orange jumpsuit in order to make sure they couldn’t escape. Everything in their pockets and on their person, including their precious family photo, was whisked away from them and labeled as contraband. 

The green paladin had been stripped bare of anything that could’ve given them any sort of physical hope and was now locked behind a barred door. Like a caged bird. The young teen snorted, as the irony was not lost on them. 

“I guess not even birds can fly away so easily when you clip their wings…” They mumbled aloud, as unfiltered thoughts began to slip past their lips and into a sea of the pained inmates’ cries.

 

* * *

 

To say Alice Holt was in emotional turmoil at the moment would be a massive understatement. As not fifteen minutes ago, her entire family was all but dead and now she’s suddenly getting calls from the military claiming they have her child in custody after they had violently attacked two officers, went AWOL during training, refused to tell the truth during a legal interrogation.

And if anyone had told her this was going to be taking place today, she probably would’ve laughed hysterically because of how stupid the idea sounded. For one, her daughter, as she had once thought, had disappeared almost half a year ago. Only a year after her husband and son had been declared dead as well. And there hasn’t been the slightest sign of life from any of the three ever since. Second point, as far as she was aware, Katie had never been much of the violent type, so obviously this sounded preposterous and even now she refused to believe until she saw it for herself. 

Alice’s car began to slow to a stop upon verifying her identity to the Garrison security guards and pulling around the front of the building. She was greeted by a stone faced Commander Iverson and a small group of cadets orbiting around the larger man like a satellite. She rubbed her eyes as if to make sure this was really happening as the older woman rolled down her window and stuck her head out to speak to them.   
  


 

“Commander, I didn’t expect to see you again.” She said, now putting the car into park and fully focusing her attention on the mountain of a man. “I’m sorry for interrupting your busy schedule.” 

“It’s not a problem at all, Mrs. Holt,” he replied, his voice coming out so hoarse it was almost as if he had swallowed gravel, “besides, after the little fiasco that has taken place with your daughter, my only focus right now is getting this straightened out.” 

Alice’s brow furrowed upon hearing those two words-- _ her daughter _ , it seemed improbable as, like mentioned before, her daughter had been practically dead for six months with no communication, no packages, no word-of-mouth warnings. Just dead space where Katie Holt had once been. She could even be sure it was her child? What if she went into the building and was met with nothing but more heartbreak and disappointment?

 

She sighed as the group seemed to wait expectantly for her to exit the vehicle and follow suit. “Right- of course. Just give me a moment to gather my things and I’ll be with you.”

As the group now gathered in the control room, Alice found herself beginning to feel like her head was spinning as a young lieutenant pulled up the feed three days previous to the meeting. That was her, that was her little Katie sitting in the chair across from the absolute hulking figure of Iverson. 

Tears of relief began to push against the back of her eyes as she could hardly stand to watch. After six months of searching, this was it. This was the solace she had been so desperately seeking because her daughter was only a few thousand ones and zeroes away. Suddenly, the feed began to roll and the virtual Commander began to question Katie. 

 

The girl’s answers were nonsensical, yet there wasn’t a trace of dryness or humor in her voice as far as Alice could tell. Iverson now declared perjury as he made Katie’s position clear, only making the girl even more furious as “Pidge” insisted once more that her story was true.

It was at this point in the tape that two guards burst in and just as the Commander had said, her daughter had truly assaulted two military officers before making her escape to freedom. Alice felt hot tears running down her face, she wasn’t quite sure when she began crying but only now had she seemed to realize it. What had she done? What had her little Katie done?

And why didn’t she just tell the truth?

 

“Ma’am?” Commander Iverson asked, now pulling Alice from her thoughts. “If you’re up to it, due to the fact you’re a family member, you’re permitted to see the prisoner.”

 

_ Prisoner.  _ Oh god, what had she done?

 

* * *

 

 

It had been an entire week since their imprisonment began and Pidge was having a field day discovering new combinations of emotions they didn’t even know they were capable of. For example: 

 

_ Malcontent - To be frustrated and forlorn _

 

_ S’bored - Their first of many linguistic amalgamations, it means to be depressed and bored _

 

_ And their personal favorite: S’mabored - The treacherous combination between anger, depression, and boredom. _

 

And if one, Pidge, were to pin a word to their current emotions that would be the perfect word to describe it as they now counted backwards from one-thousand by sevens, because they heard that’s what keeps torture victims sane. So why not give it the old college try? Not like they had much else to lose.

Suddenly, the massive metal door buzzed as two far more muscular guards marched into the cell block, immediately turning their attention to Pidge. They sighed, what could they possibly want from them now? 

 

“Katie Holt, you have a visitor.” The soldier with the buzzcut informed the paladin. 

Pidge quirked an eyebrow, now adjusting their glasses. “A what?”

“A visitor.” the bars of their cell suddenly no longer obstructed their view of the beige brick wall. “Now get a move on.”

  
  


Upon arriving in the visitor’s room, it was exactly the set up one would expect from a prison. There were stools as far as the eye could see aligning with a practically never ending barrier of bulletproof plastic. Where the only thing obstructing one’s privacy was a bugged telephone and paper thin dividers. 

Suddenly, from across the room, they spotted a glimmer of hope. “Mom?” 

The woman’s head jerked up, her eyes immediately skimming over their appearance as the second Holt’s eyes lit up with glee. 

 

“Mom!” Pidge exclaimed, breaking from the guards’ grasp and bolting towards the empty stool, despite the two large men shouting at them to walk and stay put. 

The green paladin immediately picked up the other end of the telephone, their mother doing the same as the two now looked one another squarely in the eye. “Katie? Katie is that really you?”

“Yeah mom it’s me, it’s Katie.” Pidge panted, having not felt such ecstasy since the moment of their arrest. They knew their mother was probably absolutely infuriated and baffled, but they didn’t care because they still had  _ something _ . 

 

“Oh my god, sweetheart! I was so terrified, I thought that I had-” Mrs. Holt’s voice caught, sniffling could be heard through Pidge’s end of the receiver. “I thought I had lost everyone I had. What with Matt and your father- I’m sorry, I’m just a bit overwhelmed right now. I’m not sure whether to be furious because you’re in high security prison or to ask what happened to you.”

“Can I have a combination of both please?” Pidge asked hopefully.

Alice nodded, now clearing her throat before finally exclaiming, “Young lady, I can’t believe you! You’re lucky I’m not on the other side of this plastic because my punishment would way worse than prison for what I saw you do on those security tapes. You have a  _ lot  _ of explaining to do.”

 

The green paladin nodded in satisfaction, they couldn’t believe they were saying this, but they actually  _ missed _ being scolded. “I can’t explain everything, but you have to trust me, as your child, that I’m telling the truth. Everything I said on those tapes were true. I probably sound like I have a few screws loose-- but it’s all true. My friends need me, mom.”

Alice sighed, “Katie, I want to believe you, but it’s all too much to take in. I just got my daughter back, but now you’re in prison and I didn’t even know you were alive two hours ago. I don’t know what to believe anymore…”

“Then believe me when I say that I  _ am _ a paladin of Voltron and I promise that no matter what that I’ll always come back.” The green paladin gave the woman a mischievous smirk. “I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Following the visit with their mother, Pidge found a new sense of life instilled within them. They’ve had enough time to mope, it was time to take action, take Green, and get the hell out of here. And they had already devised the perfect means of escape. 

Over the course of the next week, they began to hide their used silverware and toothpicks in an unsealed crack within their cell. This was step one of their plan, the second was a bit more complicated as while lying in their stiff cot, they’d be observing the guards’ each and every step. By the end of the third day, they knew the night shift like the back of their hand. 

And that Saturday evening, they put their plan into action. Pidge scanned the premise for guards as they then retreated to their hiding place and shoved their stash into their pockets. Two minutes, that’s how much time they had before the security camera swerved in their direction, thus they had to work quickly. 

 

All locks on the prisoners’ cells were fingerprint activated, this was easy to surmise. But their mistake was that all authorized guards had access to any cell they so desired, thus it only made sense to exploit the Garrison’s faux pas. Using the tape from Matt’s glasses, they transferred the fingerprint from where the guard had touched the fork to the clear strip and adhered it to the scanner. The green paladin held their breath as, finally, the door to their cell began to slide back. 

Pidge, once again, checked the security camera. Thirty seconds. They wriggled across the walls until they were only mere feet beneath the virtual guard dog. The toothpicks, now being used as makeshift cleats, grinded into the wall. Giving Pidge a leg up as they drove a spoon into the top of the security camera, which now hung helplessly about. 

For the time being, it seemed they were scot-free as Pidge banged away at the sides of the vent until the cover clambered onto the floor as a loud  _ “Hey! You!” _ echoed down the hall.

 

Pidge groaned, now scrambling into the vent as quickly as their body could carry them. And just as they managed to pull themselves up into the ventilation shaft, they felt the ghost of a hand brushing against their foot. That had been close, far too close for their liking as they began to search for the best drop point. 

They didn’t have much time now, once the guard alerted Iverson, it would be down to a matter of minutes before their capture. This was it, this was the moment that would make or break their entire plan. Finally, just ahead they saw the hangars where they had been arrested before, and if their eyes didn’t deceive them-- that was Green! They could barely contain their joy as they flopped over on their stomach and forcibly bunted the ventilation cover onto the ground several feet below. 

 

“There she is!” Uh oh. 

 

“Arrest her at once you idiots!” Iverson barked. “I don’t want that brat escaping again!”

 

Pidge looked on in horror, Green was only mere feet away as the large mech’s head could be spotted from across the hangar. Suddenly, it dawned on them. It could be a long shot, but it was the only chance they had.

 

“Green!” Pidge shrieked. “Catch!”

 

Suddenly, they propelled themselves from the vent. Everything around them felt as if it were falling in slow motion as the soldiers below seemed to grow more frantic. Pidge squeezed their eyes shut, their fate now literally suspended in air as they rolled to sudden holt. Their eyes fluttered open and to the green paladin’s great thrill, it was Green’s cockpit!   
  


Pidge laughed, now patting Green’s console loving. “I knew I could count on you!”

 

They rushed over to the window, now seeing that the hangar walls were rubble and standing among it was Commander Iverson and his men growing further and further out of view. Pidge grabbed Green’s controls, now throwing the lion into a U-turn as they dived back down towards the stunned group.

 

Pidge leaned out of the cockpit, now hovering only a few feet away. “Hey assholes!” 

 

The soldiers turned, their weapons still up but having yet to be fired due to the shock. Pidge raised two extremely offensive digits. “Team Voltron sends its regards!”

 

They turned back the console, soaking in the familiarity of their environment.  “Alright Green, how fast do you think you can go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That concludes Public Enemy! Thank you for reading this two-shot and if you enjoyed that, I recommend you go check out Keith Alone, the next installation in this series of stories following the paladins after the crash. (This one being about Keith). Also, if you enjoyed this series, leave a kudos or maybe even a comment, that'd be cool of you. And of course, I'd like to thank you guys for reading and continuing to follow my work. 
> 
> So hey-- thanks.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's me! So first of all, I'd like to start with the fact that yes, this isn't a Steven Universe one-shot for once but it is still about a small, green nerd. So in that aspect, nothing has changed, however, I recently have gotten into Voltron so expect to see more Voltron related content thrown into the mix as well! 
> 
> As for my Gravity Falls fanfic, the towel has not been thrown in, but because it is Summer it is on a brief hiatus until August when I will have my writing schedule back on track. And also, I realize there could be more done with this concept (not to mention this was a modestly short piece) and there possibly may be if enough people want it! So, if wish you could punch an authority in the face or you just enjoyed the one-shot, leave a kudos or maybe even a comment. That'd be cool of you. 
> 
> Oh! And I have a tumblr! So if you want to see what I get up to over there, follow me at indecisive-author. And as always, I'd like to thank my friends for beta-reading and you, yes you, for just taking the time to read my stuff.
> 
> So hey-- thanks.


End file.
